defense of himself by trayvon martin against trayvon martin and the defense felt it was very important for the judge to look at that photograph and assess whether or not it made a difference in the innocence of, as the defense says, their client. the judge looked at the photograph but kept the rulings as we just talked about. >> you and me have more to talk about next go rornd around. that wraps it up for me. flat out of time. stay tuned. i'll pass the baton to suzanne malveaux. thanks for watching. "newsroom international" starts right now. welcome to "newsroom international." i'm suzanne malveaux. we're take you around the world in 60 minutes. syria, rebels taken full control of a military base north of the key city aleppo. some rebels named by the u.s.

state department terrorists. they designated a terrorist group linked to al qaeda in iraq. the department imposed sanctions. what does it mean to sort out good rebels from bad? nick paton walsh explains. >> reporter: not only look different, black flags, well armed and disciplined, they fight differently, too. using suicide tactics and mass casualty car bombs, radical extremists but undeniably effective. behind a stream of rebel victories, overrunning regime bases across syria, many thinking the end of assad is nearer than ever. why has the united states, who also want assad gone, black listed them as terrorists? >> we've had concerns that al nusra is little more than a

front for al qaeda in iraq who has moved some of its operations into syria. >> reporter: that link clear in the document filed monday, al nusra deemed not a new group, another name for al qaeda in iraq. u.s. officials believing insurgents who kill americans in iraq fighting for rebels against assad. this move may make sense in principle but, say experts now, less so in practice. >> this creates confusing picture for the syrians because nusra is the hardest hitting group among the rebels. u.s. wants to take down assad but at the same time cutting the rebels off at the knee. it doesn't make sense. >> the group should be considered a terrorist organization based on the fact that there are allegedly connections with al qaeda in iraq. the long term after the regime does fall, i do think it will

provide an opening since most of the rebels, while respect nusra doesn't believe in their world view, and therefore the more secular and liberal and moderate islamists within the opposition might utilize this as an opportunity as well as the united states, to distance themselves but in the short to medium term, especially prior to the collapse of the regime, i don't see how to this will help out. >> reporter: they are popular with some syrian fighters who see al nusra behind the radical attack on army headquarters as badly maligned heros. extremists bombing blamed for, as one says, the work of regime loyalists trying to tar al nusr ach's reputation. when america wants to put them on the terror list it should differentiate between those who fight for and defend the syrian people and those who the assad

regime implanted to lead the world to believe this group is in al qaeda. some syrians look to the al nusra front for services and food, handouts, where other rebel groups fail them. since the black listing online petitions have told syrians to protest their support for al nusra nationwide friday, jihadists congratulated al nusra, radical but effective. whatever america's intention, they may be black listed but far from marginalized. nick paton walsh, cnn, beirut. >> another story, just three weeks away from the tax hikes, spending cuts that make up fiscal cliff, we're now seeing house speaker boehner discussing the issue from the house floor. the first time he's commented publicly after meeting with president obama sunday. let's listen. right flonow the american people have to be wondering when is the president going to get

serious. i yield back. >> the chair recognizes the gentlemen from pennsylvania mr. altmire, for five minutes. >> i rise to recognize victor decarlo for receiving the -- >> we have been listening to the house speaker talking about negotiations taking place with the president obviously, a lot of people watching closely, trying to avoid the fiscal cliff which would mean tax hikes for almost all americans but also severe cuts as well. they are debating that publicly as well as privately. i want to talk more about the rebel group that we had mention before in syria, that is now designated a new terrorist organization, cnn's hala gorani joining us atlanta. hala, first of all, you've got the syrian rebels, they're there fighting al assad's government. now the u.s. government, state department, steps in and says, a small faction of this group is considered a terrorist organization. what does that mean on the

ground in syria for the rebel forces? >> well, it's hard to tell if it's going to mean anything, really. because what we're hearing now, uniformly from rebel groups on the ground after the designation by the united states of the nusra front as a foreign terrorist organization, look you can't not arm us, not finance us, and at the same time tell us not to rely on the best sort of armed and financed subgroup in the anti-assad fight. so rebel groups are saying you're putting us in a difficult position. they're having in some cases to rely on the jihadist group and its tactics reminiscent of what happened in iraq, suzanne, as you know with the car bombings and suicide bombings, in order to make battlefield gains. you saw nick paton walsh's pieces as well one of the most significant battleground advances, the reported occupation, i should say taking, of the army base west of aleppo was made by the nusra front.

rebels are in a position where they feel they have no choice. other rebels are saying, look, once this assad regime is gone, we're going to fight them for control of the country and control of the region. you might find the situation where you have jihadist groups on the one hand and secular rebel fighters on the her in a fight for control. >> so hala, what does this mean in terms of u.s. aid and u.s. support for rebels on the ground? i imagine this confuses the whole picture. >> the united states wants one thing it wants to make sure that if money or arms or anything else goes to the rebels, it does not go to help some of these jihadist groups. the problem is, you know, once money and arms flow into a war zone, as many viewers know, it's extremely difficult to control. so what the u.s. wants now is to tell those more secular rebel factions distance yourself from the nusra front and jihadist organizations. as i said rebels are saying we doesn't have much of a choice now. this is all timed to coincide

with the big meeting in morocco, another friends of syria meeting. we know hillary clinton is not traveling to that because she's not feeling well. but this is where we anticipate that the united states is moving closer to formally recognizing the political opposition as the legitimate representative of the syrian people. so we're going to have to see over the next few days what the effect is. but on the battlefield, i can't imagine right nnow it will havef an impact. the chemical fear, the weapons potentially in syria. people are saying take a breath here, defense secretary panetta reassuring folks that this is not necessarily the case. this ways he said on his way to kuwait city. >> well, i'd like to believe he's got the message. we've made it pretty clear and others have as well. but you know, it's also clear that the opposition continues to make gains in syria and our

concern is that if they feel like the regime is, you know, threatened with collapse they might resort to these weapons. >> so everybody around the world agrees on, nobody likes taxes. well, one of the reasons people are protesting in egypt -- a live report on what the government has decided to do next. plus -- my interview with former u.s. president jimmy carter. pro-legalization and pro-nuclear energy. hear why. we'll introduce you to an ethiopian artist fusing the music of his country with a new music of his country with a new sound. try running four.ning a restaurant is hard, fortunately we've got ink. it gives us 5x the rewards on our internet, phone charges and cable, plus at office supply stores.

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the heart of 10,000 advisors working with you one-to-one. together for your future. ♪ huge protests taking place at michigan state house. there's a vote from the house that has passed the right to work bill. want to bring in alison kosik for the latest. this is controversial, allison. how are people responding? >> reporter: there's not much response here. what's going on inside the capitol is this. two votes happening in the house, one passed as you said,

51-48. that is the public union portion of the right-to-work law. that passed the house. now with the house is going to do is vote on a senate bill on private unions and that is also expected to pass. once that does if it does, it's expected that measure will head to governor rick snider's desk where he is expected to sign it. i did talk to protesters here, i let them know that the first part did pass. one teacher i talked with who came out today said they're not listening to us standing out here. at the same time another person in favor of the measure came up to me and said, what's the latest? i said the first measure passed and she jumped up and said, yeah. you are feeling the tension start to happen here. one thing that happened 40 minutes ago a tent i don't know if you can see it there, a tent, that tent was actually for a group in favor of the right-to-work measure and one point, the unions tore it down.

union members tore it down, presumably out of -- out of the tents -- the anger and the tense feeling that they are feeling here today in front of the state capitol here in michigan. >> explain to us what this mean. 23 other states that have these right-to-work laws on the books. what does this mean for michigan now? >> okay. michigan, if the second part does pass today, michigan would become and goes to the governor's desk, of course, where he signs. the 24th state in the country have there is right-to-work legislation. what it means is that, if you're looking for work here in the state of m. michigan you would not have to pay fees to a union as a condition to get or keep that job. it means that you're not going to be forced to join a union anymore. obviously, a huge blow, not just to unions here in michigan where unions were born. the united autoworkers union born here in 1935 but it

wouldn't be a blow to unions here in michigan. it could undercut the power and influence of unions across the country. >> all right. we'll be getting more from you as this develops. a lot of people who are quite angry about this. this is a controversial issue in state of michigan. we are also watching violence in egypt. mass gunmen opening fire on opposition protesters in cairo's tahrir square rounding several people. crowds are gathering at key spots in the capital including outside the presidential palace. rival rallies taking place, those is just four days before a vote on their proposed constitution. reza sayah joining us live from cairo where soldiers are guarding the palace. i imagine a lot of nervous people there. s that remained peaceful today? >> reporter: yeah, that's probably the best news at this hour new yoo violence, no clash. dramatic days in the political

crisis. this is another one of those days because there's potential of things getting ugly because two sided of the conflict called for mass demonstrations, opposition factions, critics of the president called to march on the presidential palace, the marchers are taking place as we speak. scheduled to couplemeulminate w are, 15 minutes away from here where the muslim brotherhood they have their own mass demonstration. many relieved they're not meeting at the same place. we know what happened last time that took place. last week they went to blows here at the palace, nearly 700 people injured. several people killed. nobody, suzanne, wants a repeat performance. at this location things are peaceful as crowds starting to grow and get loud. >> what do they want? what do these two sides fighting

over? >> reporter: can you hear? >> we can't seem to hear raze za sayah. we'll try bring him back as soon as we can. tremendous heartache in the philippines after typhoon bopha, authorities saying the storm has killed more than 700 people. about 900 others are still missing. many of them fishermen. take a look at damage left behind in south. homes, entire villages destroyed. hundreds of thousands of people are struggling to rebuild. the storm hit last week but officials have just started to make it to some of the remote areas to search for survivors. and just to get a sense of the scope of the damage. the u.n. is asking for 65 million in international aid. the prachk phonk phone call revealed information about the duchess of cambridge may have

led to the death of the nurse. they are going to donate $500,000 to the deceased woman's family. she committed suicide after she let the hoax call go through the ward where the duchess was staying. an autopsy on her will be carried out today. she was married and had two children. after four days of testing authorities reveal why nelson mandela is in the hospital and house serious his condition is. and cut! very good. people are always asking me how we make these geico adverts. so we're taking you behind the scenes. this coffee cup, for example, is computer animated. it's not real. geico's customer satisfaction is quite real though. this computer-animated coffee tastes dreadful. geico. 15 minutes could save you 15 % or more on car insurance. someone get me a latte will ya, please?

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learning new information about the health of former south african president nelson mandela. officials saying he's being the freed for a lung infection. he has been in the hospital in pretoria, south africa since saturday. people around the world paying attention to his condition. robyn curnow joining us live from pretoria. this is not first time he's been treated for a lung infection. he's 94 years old. are they saying that this is something that is very serious? >> reporter: you know, i think as we've mentioned before on

your show, south african government has been very tight with the information it's giving to the south african public, short, brief statements. the one we got today merely saying he's suffering from a reoccurring lung condition and crucially for south africans he's responding to treatment. we do know he's spending another night, the fourth night in the military hospital behind me in one of those wards that are lit up. i spoke to doctors earlier and i said, what exactly is a lung infection? it could be anything. without details to go on it could be something as simple as bronchitis or serious as pneumonia which is common in very old people. but you know, i think when it comes to mandela, he's as you said, he's had health scares before, he's had issues with his lungs before. he's always bounced back, he's surprised his doctors. >> that's a good thing. people are worried about him. i recently travelled to south africa and people talk about him

all the time and they think of him very warmly, very fondly, even as a leader still of that country. what are people saying? >> reporter: you feel it, don't you, when you walk on the streets of south africa? he's very much part of the fabric of the nation because of course he's seen as the founding father of democracy here. i was reading some of the letters pages in a local newspaper and there's very sweet, nostalgic, deeply affect nate letters. get well, you brought freedom to our world. without you, wow wouldn't be here was one. another one, we all leave footprints on our journey in life, yours are worth following. yes, you're right. you've got that sense when you were here. south africans deeply love him. but also are pragmatic and realize that he's not immortal and they've seen him age and he has aged quite obviously over the past few years. i think they're also maybe preparing for a day when you

know he isn't here. >> it is a difficult day to prepare for. thank you. when i was in south africa in october i had a chance to sit down with one of nelson mandela's family member, a former son-in-law. gave us an intimate look of someone who is an iconic figure, a peek inside the family dynamics. he talked about marrying mandela's daughter. listen. >> love, and still loves zinzi, as his baby. so anybody who comes in to want to challenge, you know, that space, as much as she was comfortable but i had taken his baby, you know, the love, you know, that he had, he welcomed me with an open heart and

treated me really like a son. but in the back of his mind i have taken his daughter away in terms of the love. you know, a father's love for the daughter, you can never challenge that. so i'm not going to lie and say everything was just smooth. as much as he accepted me, but there was this problem that this, especially because he had just come back, you know? he hadn't had time to be with her. he still wanted to be with these baby but the baby immediately after he came back, he said, dad, i'm getting married. >> nice intimate story of behind the scenes with the mandelas. he's not just a former president. he was also a nuclear engineer and he thinks nuclear power could help cure the energy crisis. i sat down with former president carter to talk about it.

i think if nuclear power is treated as a very wonderful opportunity for safe and free from pollution source of energy and is adequately managed, like you do in a nuclear submarine, i think it's a good place to have it.

the night he won the election, president obama made a promise to make sure our children grow up unafraid of what he called destructive power of a warming planet. how did we get there? recently asked that question to another president, former president jimmy carter. he was a gft uest in atlanta on friday night. mr. carter was a champion of solar energy during his time at the white house. though new technology didn't catch on as fast as he had hoped. >> back in 1979 you famously put

solar panels on the white house and you said, and i'm going to quote here, you said, either they would be a curiosity, a museum piece, or they would be a small part of one of the greatest and most exciting adventures ever under taken by the american people. i'm sore troy say the solar panels are at the smithsonian, they are museum pieces. what does this say about our commitment, where we are today, in protecting the environment? >> well, it says that the protection of environment goes up and down in america. basically because of the attitude of the president. and when president reagan came in, he removed the solar panels and sent them to a college up in, i think, connecticut. now we have one of the solar panels at the carter center, the museum, and number one producer of solar panels in the world in china, also bought one of the solar panels. so they have brought a lot of

money in for that small college. we need to have consistency in america and committing ourselves to preserving the environment, protecting us from global warming which is real and we need leadership coming from the white house every day saying we need to do something about global warming. that hasn't happened yet. my hope is in president obama's second term he'll be the leader of the world and not lagging behind the other nations in doing something about global warming. >> you're a nuclear engineer at one point, promoted nuclear energy. how do you make the distinction between nuclear energy for good use, good purposes, and for bad use? and iran's argument that they are creating nuclear energy for power and not as a threat to the united states, speak to the link between energy and national security. >> i was in charge of a

development of the second atomic submarine and i was an early nuclear physicist. that was my graduate work. i had what's convinced then and now nuclear power for peaceful purposes. it ought to be not for wars or bops but for producing power. at same time in needs to be safe. we never had anybody hurt in the country because of a nuclear accident. i was president when three mile island took place and there was very dire concerns about the consequences of that ma that many people would get killed. the next day my wife and i went to the control room in three mile island to prove it was safe. if it's treat the as a wonderful opportunity safe and free from pollution source of energy and is adequately managed like you do in a nuclear submarine, it's a good place to have it.

>> more of my interview coming up he is in support of legalizing use of marijuana. he's not the only former president who thinks so. searching for a bank designed for investors like you? tdd#: 1-800-345-2550

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the war on drugs, when bill clinton was in the white house he intensified the battle but since then he's had a change of heart. >> obviously, if the expected results we were to have to eliminate serious drug nus america and eliminate the narco trafficking networks it hasn't worked. i think there should be safe places where people who have addiction could come and not be arrested and have basic needs met. i had a brother addicted to cocaine. i know a lot about this.

and i understand more than most people do what is involved. >> former president clinton opening up about the war on drugs in the new documentary "breaking the taboo" he's not the only former president who thinks the war on drugs has been a failure. i asked president jimmy carter what he thinks about the fight to legalize marijuana. >> when i was president, in 1979 i made my definitive speech about drugs and i called for the decriminalization of marijuana. this was in 1979. not -- >> today -- >> not for the legalization but the decriminalization to keep people from being put in prison because they were smoking a marijuana cigarette. i pointed out nobody should be punished worse for smoking a cigarette than a cigarette would be to them if they smoked it. but for every person in prison when i went out of office in 1981, 8 americans now in prison.

and most of those americans who are in prison and most of those americans who are executed with a death penalty are african-american or hispanic or other minorities and also people who have a mental problem. you cannot imagine a white male man who has money being executed. so the death penalty in america and putting everybody in prison because they have marijuana is a very major step backward and it ought to be reversed not only in america but around the world. >> what do you make of the legalization of marijuana and the states that have legalized marijuana? >> i'm in favor of. i think it's okay. i'm -- i don't think it's going to happen in georgia yet, but i think -- i think we can watch and see what happens in the state of washington, for instance, around seattle, and let the american government and let the american people does it cause a serious problem or not. all drugs were decriminalized in

portugal ten years ago and the use of drugs has done gown dramatically and nobody put in prison. a few places around the world is good to experiment with and a few states in america are good to take the initiative and try something out. that's the way our country's developed over the last 200 year, by a few states being experiment stations. on that basis i'm in favor of it. >> making news there. also sat down with cnn founder ted turner and richard branson, we had a discussion on clean energy. we'll be rolling out the interviews and "cnn newsroom" in the days to come. tomorrow my interview with richard branson where he enters the political fray. >> i think if the republican party could change so that you know they were fiscally astute but really cared about the individual they cared as much about the gay person living in america, as the single mother,

as the, you know, as the woman that you know can't -- you know just can't have her eighth child or ninth child, et cetera, et cetera, just being a little more caring and understanding, then i think republicans could become electable. >> that interview airing tomorrow. right here on cnn. they grabbed our attention 2012. vote for the top ten most intriguing people of the year. logon to cnn.com/intriguing. we'll announce results monday december 24th. a record settlement but no prosecution at global banking giant hsbc. admits it failed to stop money laundering by mexican drug cartels and terrorism financiers. [ male announcer ] red lobster's crabfest ends soon.

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this is where high finance and street crime intersect could be a problem on your street as

well. talking about the banking giant hsbc, europe's largest, have to pay $2 billion to settle investigation by u.s. prosecutors who are looking into international drug money laundering. investigators say the bank ignored rules that could have stopped this laundering operation, that the money went to drug cartels and terrorists. jim bolden is joining us london. what happened? >> reporter: well, suzanne, this is interesting. all of these banks have been fined by the u.s. government over last few years but hsbc, by far, the biggest. this fine, as you say, $1.9 billion. the government says that this bank has not been complying with u.s. laws when it comes to finding out where the money is going to, where the money's come from. u.s. government says there s too much money coming from mexico for hsbc not to know between 2006 and 2009, that it must have been coming from money laundering from drug cartels. they say they have put now measures in place so it wouldn't

happen again. >> why are we seeing problems with or european banks as well? huge international fine -- these fines on international banks. >> reporter: exactly. wachovia has been fined but it's one of the few u.s. banks in the past, fined for similar things. ing, hsbc, tried to move into the u.s. market and they tried to find ways, of course to build quickly in the u.s., acquisitions and other things. they're such big banks. are they so big they couldn't follow what the u.s. was doing, what their people in the u.s. were doing? were they able to get away with things in the u.s. not complying with u.s. law because headquarters here in europe couldn't keep control of it? that's one of the questions. the other one is, were they aggressively trying to build their business so much in the u.s. that they closed they're eyes to what was going on? that's why they're all facing fines, i think. >> thank you. traditional ethiopian music meeting jazz rhythms. an artist who never touched an instrument until ten years ago. now changing the face of

ethiopian music. when we got married. i had three kids. and she became the full time mother of three. it was soccer, and ballet, and cheerleading, and baseball. those years were crazy. so, as we go into this next phase, you know, a big part of it for us is that there isn't anything on the schedule. ♪ hark how the bells, sweet silver bells ♪ ♪ all seem to say throw care away ♪ ♪ from everywhere, filling the air ♪ [ female announcer ] chex party mix. easy 15-minute homemade recipes you just pop in a microwave.

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♪ that is lovely. that's somebody who only has been playing the piano for ten years. an ethiopian musician, he liked to call his style ethiojazz, listen ♪

♪ >> well, he's amazing. his debut album lands number one spot on the itunes chart. good to see you, samuel. love your stuff. discovered it and -- >> thank you. >> sure. i understand it was tough going in the beginning when you were a kid. you had obstacles. parents were worried this would get in the way of your studies and your music teacher thought your hands were too small for the piano. you overcome all of this. tell us about it. >> yeah. >> reporter: because i wanted to be a musician since i was small. i ask.

after completing the last -- >> we're having a tough connection. a tough time hearing you. we'll try get you back. try to get that connection fix sod we can ask you more about your music. it's really beautiful. it's called ethiojazz. take a chance to listen, it is quite amazing. we'll try bring him back. we also know mona lisa's smile. what about the woman herself? >> historical documents seem to indicate that this is the place where lisa gardini, otherwise known as mona lisa was buried. beyond that it's a mystery. >> ben wedeman tries to unearth mar details about da vinci's most famous model. americans are always ready to work hard for a better future.

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7.7% where unemployment stands in the united states. it's progress but there are at least 12 million americans who are not heading into work today, 4.8 million long-term unemployed. long-term jobless receive unemployment benefits from the federal government and those benefits, they go away. at the end of the year for many of the folks, if no deal is reached over the fiscal cliff. cnn has the details. >> reporter: liz does not call it a fiscal cliff. she could be facing at year's end is a financial free-fall. >> i just don't wish i was in this situation but it is what it is. and i could just do what i can. >> reporter: she lost her job as a new home sales manager last january. annan old laptop with a broken cord, she applies for job after job, keeping track in a notebook.

averaging 15 applications a day, at age 54, this is the first time she's ever been on unemployment. she's emptied out her 401(k), savings and the last resort, emergency federal jobless program kept her in her town home giving her $454 a week. december 29th, unless congress and the white house act the money stops. >> we're not trying to live off the system. we're trying to survive. it's not a luxury to be on unemployment. it's a means to keep us going. >> reporter: the fear of the fiscal cliff isn't just cheer in the suburban neighborhood. in the states with the highest unemployment from the west to the north to the south, they will be hit the hardest. some 2 million americans will see those federal unemployment benefits disappear all at once. economist chris thornburgh says these americans are the unfortunate pawns in the tough game of politics and budget balancing. >> ultimately, this is a trade-off. the trade-off of course has to

be that while in some way some people are hit painfully by reduction in federal benefits, at the same time we have to appreciate that this deficit has to be closed. >> reporter: what human costs? >> there's my refrigerator. >> reporter: down to condiments until the next unemployment check arrives. while we're here talking to her about the fiscal cliff, she gets an e-mail. >> yeah! my interview. great. okay. that's good news. >> reporter: a third interview for a sales job. if washington can't do it, maybe this job will pull her back from the cliff. >> oh my god. i can't believe how excited i am right now. >> more than 500 years but the lady behind da vinci's smile is behind speculation. italian archaeologists might have found the missing link to the mystery of mona lisa. they've excavated remains which

they think belong to the woman who modeled for the famous painting. ben wedeman reports from the excavation site. >> reporter: the smile has per perplexed for centuries. the mona lisa. in the frigid bowels of what was once a convent in florence, the television producer turned art researcher is leading a project to find and identify remains of the woman who posed for da vin economy more than 500 years ago. historical documents indicate this is the place where he's 15 de gherardini was buried. remains of five females were found here. the skull may be that of the second wife of a wealthy florence silk merchant. remains compared with the dna of two relatives buried elsewhere.

no other likeness of her has been found and given da vinci spent years on the painting. the real lisa bears no resemblance to the mona lisa. >> translator: once we identified the remains, he tells me, we can reconstruct the face with the margin of error of 2% to 8%. by doing this we'll finally be able to answerer the question the art historians can't. who was the model for leo flori leonardo. >> reporter: the smile, on the other hand will reman a mystery. he claims scientific analysis suggests the smile came later. when, he say, leonardo began painting the mod until front of him he didn't draw that ironic,

poignant, elusive smile but painted a person who was dark and depressed. the smile, he and others have suggested may belong to da vinci's longtime assistant and some say lover. other art historians claim the painting was actually a surreptitious self-portrait. we may never know if the smile was as nat king cole sang to temp a lover or simply confound humanity. ben wedeman, cnn, florence, italy. i'm suzanne malveaux. a huge pro-labor rally outside the michigan state house. look.

demonstrators protesting so-called right-to-work legislation that lawmakers are in the process of voting on. the house has already voted to approve the part of the law covering public employees. alison kosik outside the michigan state house in lansing. give us a sense of why this is so important to folks there. a huge demonstration. people who are angry on both sides. >> reporter: oh, yeah. unions are really at the fabric of so many people who live in michigan. it's why these protesters have come out today though the numbers, they got probably as high as a few thousand. the numbers have dwindled ever since that first vote came through. this means so much to the folks who live here in michigan because unions were practically born here. the united autoworkers union born here in 1935. 17 357b9% of the people who work in the state belong to unions. it's one of the top of the highest rates in the country. so to see the union undercut by

the right-to-work legislation, that is being discussed right now inside the capitol building here in michigan, it's tough for them to take because what this legislation will essentially do if passed it will mean if you're looking for a job in michigan you will not be forced to join a union. you would not have to pay union fees in order to have a job or to keep a job in this state. suzanne? >> how likely is this going to be passed, this is going to happen, the governor signing this? and how divided is this community? >> reporter: it's extremely divided. if is expected to pass. for one, as you said, first part of the bill just passed -- just passed the house. by the way after that happened protesters who are inside the capitol building now started shouting "veto, veto, veto" and started a sit-in. ev jesse jackson walked into the area and sat down with them

and said a prayer. this is divisive. to give you an idea how divisive it is, see that tent here over my shoulder? that is tent for one of the groups in favor of the right-to-work law. guess who tore it down? those against the law. they're not happy about it. the divisiveness right there on the ground. >> what happens next here? i understand there were schools closed because so many teachers were walking out of the classrooms to protest there. how do they heal? how do they come together? where do they go from here? >> reporter: where they go from here, it's sort of the reason why you're seeing these demonstrations come out in mass today. although they know that this bill is most likely going to make it to the governor's desk today for his signature they realize that this is an effort that is sort of now past. what they are looking for now is the next election. in two years they want to change

the landscape in the state capitol. another story, called a secret mission. u.s. air force now set to launch an unmanned mini shuttle into space. want to bring in john zarrella live in miami. countdown's happening. tell us about the mystery mission. >> reporter: less than 30 seconds, atless 5 rocket sitting at cape canaveral. you can see the military helicopters, this vehicle the x-37b. it is one of the most secret projects the u.s. military has that we know of and bottom line is that this vehicle, the x-37 is about the quarter of the size of the shuttle. we've got lift-off. >> lit lift-off of the united launch atlas rocket carrying the mission for the united states air force. >> reporter: so that mini

spacecraft, x-37b in the top third encased in the fering of the atlas 5 rocket. as i was say, this is, and as mentioned in the launch, see it climbing through the blue cloud and sky there? pretty much good weather. this is the third flight of the vehicles. there are two of them that the area force owns. the last one, suzanne, flew for 469 days. there has been all kinds of speculation as to what this thing does up there. there's been speculation that it is a satellite killer. there's been speculation it is a spy satellite that can on command be moved to locations where it's needed. but the air force has said, absolutely not. it's none of those things. it's basically a test bed for future technologies. things like navigation and control. avionics, guidance, thermal protection. because this x-37b which does

look like a space shuttle actually has thermal tiles on it. the air force is saying it's a test bed for future technologies that will help the military but there are a lot of those folks throughout who think that the x-37 might be a lot more than that. and again, absolutely so far, picture perfect, blue sky there as that atlas 5 rocket with the x-37b inside heads up. about 200 miles, orbits the same distance that the space shuttle's orbited the earth. >> two yeses. where is it going? why is it so secret? >> reporter: well, that's just it. it's going 200 miles up, it will go into orbit. we have no idea thoug will be in orbit. the last one, as i said, 15 months in orbit. it can land back on earth like a space shuttle did. the last one landed out in vandenberg in california. and you know, what is it doing?

what is it carrying? probably just re, very few people in the military who know. although we do know the cost, probably well over a billion dollars so far with this vehicle. suzanne? >> what could they potentially be using this for, all of the baby shuttles, so to speak? >> reporter: you know, it's not -- the air force has no plans, at least that we know of to put humans on this. they insist that it's just a test bed to work on new technologies that will, you know, help the military down the road. as i mentioned, things like thermal protection systems, advanced avionics systems there are those out there, conspiracy theorists, who think it's a lot more sinister than that, that it is a spy killing satellite, kill spy satellites or itself a spy satellite? we don't know. >> john, thank you. former president jimmy carter nudging president obama

to do more to take on global warming. >> that hasn't happened yet and my hope that is in president obama's second term he'll be the leader of the world and not lagging behind the other nations in doing something about global warming. [ male announcer ] this is sheldon, whose long dy setting up the news starts with arthritis pain and a choice. take tylenol or take aleve, the #1 recommended pain reliever by orthopedic doctors. just two aleve can keep pain away all day. back to the news.

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crunch time, the fiscal cliff talks just 21 days left for the president and congress to reach a deal. if there is no agreement, it's going to be higher taxes for all of us, along with massive spending cuts. over the weekend president and house speaker boehner met face-to-face for the first time since november 16th. today boehner and nancy pelosi back to finger pointing. >> a lot of people know the president and i met on sunday. it was a nice meeting, cordial. but we're still waiting for the white house to identify what spending cuts the president is willing to make as part of the balanced approach that he promised the american people. you know, where are the president's spending cuts? the longer the white house walks the process, the closer our economy gets to the fiscal

cliff. >> what i would do to respond to what the speaker has said, though, is to set the record straight. the fact is that the president has and democrats agree with him, agreed to over $1.5 trillion, $1.6 trillion in cuts and the budget control act and other acts of congress in this -- in this particular congress. $1.6 trillion in cuts. where are the cuts? they're in bills that you, mr. speaker, have voted for. >> so it all comes down to tax revenues and spending cuts. tom foreman gives us a virtual view of what is involved in negotiations. watch. >> what you're looking at in the room is everything the federal government spends money on. and that scoreboard back there shows you the problem. last year we spent $3.6 trillion in all of the stuff. but we only took in 2.3 trillion

in taxes or revenue. democrats talk in the talks about the revenue side of the equation. they say if we can find a way to gin up more taxes lean on the rich harder, that's how we can dole with the deficit. republicans agreeing we need more revenue want to talk more about the stuff and whether or not they can cut some things down. one of the first things you may notice, not all spending is equal. you skroucould have dramatic cu homeland security, interior department. if you cut those proms out entirely you save $80 billion but that's a small fraction of the deficit. that's why the talk is about the back row where the big ticket items reside such as social security, health and human services home to medicare, medicaid, and defense. each one of these accounts for more than $700 billion in spending. if you can find a way to chop about 25% out of each program ear, you'd get real savings,

half a trillion dollars. but doing that would be unbelievably tough. the simple truth some are protected from cuts. social security is something democrats and republicans have been afraid to go after. the social programs are very much protected by the democrats. and the republicans are equally protected of defense. that's why these talks are so tough. the truth is every program in the room has constituents who will fight tooth and nail to hold on to funding. but there is this. if no deal is struck and the fiscal cliff comes, then $600 billion in automatic tax increases and spending cuts will kick in. that could affect a lot of programs in the room and that will absolutely leave an awful lot of voters, democratic and republican, unhappy. >> i want to take a closer look at what each side wants in the fiscal cliff and dpoeshiations, where they stand on taxes and savings. gloria borger joining us live.

that was pretty cool what tom did. >> love that virtual studio. >> unbelievable. >> great. >> tell us a little bit about the sticking point here. it's about the taxes on the wealthiest 2% of americans and the president sticking to that. republicans, it looks like some of them at least willing to move or budge on that. where do we stand? >> a little bit. we're kind of in the part of this where each side's waiting for the other side to go first, suzanne. and of course, the big sticking point, as you point out, is revenues. they have to figure out what to do about revenues before they figure out what to do about anything else. let's take a look at this. there's a big difference on the revenue point. the white house says, let's raise $1.4 trillion from taxes and the republicans are saying, not so fast, not so fast, $800 billion. now, on the revenue front, the big sticking point, as you know, suzanne, is those personal tax rates. what the white house is saying, go back to clinton years.

maybe raise rates as high as that 39.6% and the republicans right now are saying, no way. i say right now, because i believe there could be some room for compromise in there. but both sides, suzanne, what's interesting to me, both sides in the long term agree that there has to be a way to cap deductions and close loopholes. >> sure. >> that will be a part of tax reform. if you do that in tax reform, you're going to end up lowering that tax rate anyway. but before they can get to tax reform, they have to get over this speed bump, right, on what to do about those personal rates. >> it's a big speed bump. tell us also about the differences, big differences in health care savings. i don't know, is that something that can be bridged, these two sides can come together on that? >> you just played a bite from speaker boehner saying, look, show us a little leg here, democrats, on those -- on those

spending cuts and this is what he's talking about. take a look at this. the white house says, they're willing to do $350 billion in health savings. and the republicans are almost double that, what that includes from the republican party is increasing, for example, the eligibility age from medicare. say instead of it being 65 it might go up to the age of 67 or changing the way we calculate then crease in social security benefits. these are things that the president has been willing to talk about in the past. the republicans want them to talk about it first, right now, before they sign on to any rate increase. so we're back in the situation of who gives first, which is why these talks are going to have to come down to the president and john boehner in a room with a closed door, okay, because that's the only way they're going to get to do it.

>> we'll see who gives a little leg. gloria, thank you. former president carter put solar panels on the white house when he was president. he is considered a leader in clean energy. coming up, i sat down with the former president to talk about iran's interests in using nuclear energy. >> i think that if nuclear power is treated as a very wonderful opportunity for safe and free from pollution source of energy and is adequately managed like you do in a nuclear submarine, i think it's a good place to have think it's a good place to have it. think it's a good place to have it. i need to rethink the core of my portfolio. what i really need is sleep. introducing the ishares core, building blocks for the heart of your portfolio. find out why 9 out of 10 large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. read and consider it carefully before investing.

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okay. if you haven't checked off the bucket list, might want do so the next ten days if you believe the mayan calendar, december 21st, falls on a friday. leave it to jay leno to tell us why that's important. >> it's hard to believe, according to mayans, in 11 days we'll be dead. hard to believe. as you know mayans predicted the world will come to an end december 21st which is a friday. how much does that suck?

world's ending on a friday? end it on a monday. at least you got the weekend, right? want to work all day and friday, you're dead on friday. oh! >> that's pretty funny. there's a different worldwide prediction that scientists have them excited, it has to do with global warming. first forecast in 1990. interesting comparisons. what do we know? >> i worked on weather models when i first started doing weather in '85 with the weather service and we could figure out whether the models were right the next day. how did did we do? we said 44, it was 62. let's change something. you can't just say let's change something after many, many years, maybe you can. finally the first model that was run in 1990 is now 20 years old, 20 years now. it still has another 20 to go.

what did it say? where is it now? predicted two degree fahrenheit increase by the year 2030. so you average that out. by 2010, halfway down the model, a one-degree fahrenheit change. but what they found was .63. you say, they were wrong. yes, but they were wrong a little, 35% wrong but they had it in the right direction. this is what the climate model's saying now. we didn't go down. the model was mostly right on the way back up. here's how it happens. as we look at what has changed over when the model started, let's just start the model right here and go up two degrees by the year 2030. what has happened in the meantime is that, well, we had an eruption, collapse of the soviet union industrial period and china going up significantly in their industrial evolution, we'll call it, and though we're 30, 37% lower than where we could have been, this whole thing changes and the climate's right, models have been right.

this is an exciting time for rest of the 20 years of that model and what it says for climate change and the climate modelers obviously tweaking it, understand that was 1990 model. you can probably run that same model on your blackberry, considering what the computers looked like and what we have now. we should considerably get more accurate. one more thing, by the way, to go back to jay leno, i think jay missed the story that we had here on cnn when they found the next 8,000 years of the mayan calendar. so we're good for 8,000 years and ten days. >> good. >> they found the rest. >> relieved. i don't have to check things off the bucket list. chad, thank you. former president jimmy carter weighing in on global warming. >> we need to have consistency in america in committing ourselves to preserving environment, protecting us from global warming, which is real, and we also need to have

leadership coming from the white house every day saying we need to do something about global warming. >> his message to president obama, up next.ssive di ct and or car insue companies? yes. but you're progressive, and they're them. yes. but they're here. yes. are you...? there? yes. no. are you them? i'm me. but those rates are for... them. so them are here. yes! you want to run through it again? no, i'm good. you got it? yes. rates for us and them -- now that's progressive. call or click today. [ sniffs ] i took dayquil but my nose is still runny. [ male announcer ] truth is, dayquil doesn't treat that. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your runny nose. [ breathes deeply ] awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is. that's the cold truth! in that time there've been some good days. and some difficult ones.

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saving the planet, night he won the election, president obama made a promise to make sure our children grow up unafraid of what he call destructionive power of a warming planet. how did we get there? asked that to jimmy carter. mr. carter was a champion of solar energy during his time at the white house. though the new technology didn't catch on as fast as he had hoped. >> back in 1979 you famously put solar panel on the white house. and you said, and i'm going to

quote here, you said, either they would be a curiosity, a museum piece, or they would be a small part of one of the greatest and most exciting adventures ever undertaken by the american people. i am sorry to say, the solar panels are at the smithsonian, they are museum pieces. what does this say about our commitment, where we are today, in protecting the environment? >> well, it says that the protection of environment goes up and down in america. basically because of the attitude of the president. and when president reagan came in, he removed the solar panels and sent them to a college up in, i think, connecticut. now we have one of the solar panels at the carter center, the museum, and number one producer of solar panels in the world in china, also bought one of the solar panels. so they have brought a lot of money in for that small college. but i think what it says is we need to have consistency in america and committing ourselves to preserving the environment, protecting us from global

warming, which is real, and we need leadership coming from the white house every day saying we need to do something about global warming. that hasn't happened yet. my hope is in president obama's second term he'll be the leader of the world and not lagging behind the other nations in doing something about global warming. >> you're a nuclear engineer at one point, promoted nuclear energy. how do you make the distinction between nuclear energy for good use, good purposes, and for bad use? and iran's argument that they are creating nuclear energy for power and not as a threat to the united states? speak to the link between energy and national security. >> i was in charge of a development of the second atomic submarine and i was an early nuclear physicist. that was my graduate work.

i had what's convinced then and now there's a place for nuclear power for peaceful purposes. it ought to be not for wars or bombs but for propelling ships and producing power. at same time in needs to be safe. we never had anybody hurt in the country because of a nuclear accident. i was president when three mile island took place and there was very dire concerns about the consequences of that, that many people would get killed. the next day my wife and i went to the control room in three mile island to prove it was safe. so i think that if nuclear power is treated as a wonderful opportunity safe and free from pollution source of energy and is adequately managed like you do in a nuclear submarine, it's a good place to have it. >> former president jimmy carter called for decriminalization of marijuana back in 1979. what he has to say about the legalization of recreational marijuana in washington state

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new perspectives on the war on drugs. when bill clinton was in the white house he expanded the change of war. since then he has had a change of heart. >> obviously, if the expected results we were to have to eliminate serious drug use in america and eliminate the narco trafficking networks it hasn't worked. i think there should be safe places where people who have addict could come and not think they're going to be arrested and have basic needs met i have personal experience with this. i had a brother addicted to cocaine. i know a lot about this. and i understand more than most people do what is involved. >> former president clinton and others

opening up about the war on drugs in the new documentary "breaking the taboo" he's not the only former president who thinks the war on drugs has been a failure. i asked president jimmy carter what he thinks about the fight to legalize marijuana. >> when i was president, in 1979 i made my definitive speech about drugs and i called for the decriminalization of marijuana. this was in 1979. not -- >> today -- >> not for the legalization but the decriminalization to keep people from being put in prison because they were smoking a marijuana cigarette. i pointed out nobody should be punished worse for smoking a cigarette than a cigarette would be to them if they smoked it. but for every person in prison when i went out of office in 1981, 8 americans now in prison. and most of those americans who are in prison and most of those americans who are executed with a death penalty are african-american or hispanic or

other minorities and also people who have a mental problem. you cannot imagine a white male man who has money being executed. so the death penalty in america and putting everybody in prison because they have marijuana is a very major step backward and it ought to be reversed not only in america but around the world. >> what do you make of the legalization of marijuana and the states that have legalized marijuana? >> i'm in favor of. i think it's okay. i'm -- i don't think it's going to happen in georgia yet, but i think -- i think we can watch and see what happens in the state of washington, for instance, around seattle, and let the american government and let the american people see does it cause a serious problem or not. all drugs were decriminalized in portugal ten years ago and the use of drugs has done gown dramatically and nobody put in prison. so i think a few places around the world is good to experiment with and a few states in america are good to take the initiative and try

something out. that's the way our country's developed over the last 200 years, by a few states being experiment stations. on that basis i'm in favor of it. >> president carter making news there. also sat down with cnn founder ted turner and richard branson, of virj atlantic airways fame about we discussed the clean energy solutions and problem. rolling out the interviews on "cnn newsroom" in the days to come. tomorrow my interview with richard branson where he actually talks politics. >> i think if the republican party could change so that you know they were fiscally astute but they also, you know, really cared about the individual they cared as much about the gay person living in america, as the single mother, as the, you know, as the woman that you know can't -- you know just can't have her eighth child

or ninth child, et cetera, et cetera, just being a little more caring and understanding, then i think republicans could become electable. >> that interview airing tomorrow. right here on cnn. they grabbed our attention back in 2012. vote for the top ten most intriguing people of the year. logon to cnn.com/intriguing. we'll announce results monday december 24th. today we're talking about financial aid. very, very important. with me those hour, lynette and david. take a listen to this question. >> how do you get a government loan to go back to school? >> this is a big question because through the government it's more affordable than private student loans but people are worried about accessing that money. >> right. this is i good time to start thinking about it. january 1st kicks off fafsa

season. if you want a loan or grant or scholarship of any kind for college you must fill out fafsa. don't wait until april 15th. you can estimate your income figures, you want to do it immediately. but there are loans out there. there's the federal stafford loan one of most commonly granted loans for people who want to go back to college. depending on her north carolina income she might qualify for a pell grant. >> that could change but it's important you do this as early as possible. also may be programs through the school that may be available, work study programs, apprenticeship programs and they're on a first come, first served basis. the earlier you get the application in, the better. >> do the leg work early. upload a 30 second video with a question to ireport.com.

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we've been talking last few days about chemical weapons fears in syria. take a breath. defense secretary leon panetta has a reassuring message. he said earlier today, the flight on kuwait city, not so bad. watch. >> i'd like to believe he's got the mettage. we made it pretty clear, and others have as well. but you know, it's also clear that the opposition continues to make gains in syria and our concern is that if they feel like the regime is, you know, threatened with collapse that they might resort to these kinds

of weapons. >> secretary of state hillary clinton was supposed to attend a meeting with the group known as the friends of syria coalition. she's not going to be there. deputy secretary of state burns will go to morocco in her place, talking about how syria will recover after the war. it's been two years since the surge of american troops in afghanistan. yet violence in the country is higher, that is the afghan national army still needing american help, taliban still very much a strong threat. chris lawrence joining us from the pentagon to talk about where we are in all of this. you've got a report that covers a six-month period, april through the end of september. what does it reveal? >> reporter: well, if you're talking about whether the surge was a success or not, it's very, very tough question to answerer. certainly violence is still high and what this report found, suzanne, is that the taliban is still a very determined enemy, that they plan to still use assassinations, intimidations,

improvised explosive devises to continue to recapture some of the ground they have lost over the last couple of years. when you look at what the u.s. has done to train the afghans to take over, there are fewer american casualties because the afghans are in the lead but the afghan casualties are going up. when you look at the number of brigades, afghan brigades, 23 of them in all in the afghan national army, only one of those can really fully operate without some help from nato. when you look big picture compared to ten years ago, you've got maybe 85% of population with ready access to health care, compared to less than 10%. you've got 8 million kids in schools where there was only 1 million. there are some success there's. but if you look at violence, look at determined enemy and look at really the inability of the afghan forces to be able to step up on a larger scale, it's a very, very mixed result.

>> chris, give us the timetable here. you still have 68,000 american troops left in afghanistan. what is the plan moving forward? >> reporter: a lot of that is going to be decided here in the next few weeks. secretary panetta will be talking with the president, will be laying out some of the options to him from the commander there, general john allen in afghanistan, talking over what's going to happen in 2013, what we've heard is general allen would like to keep a sizable number of those troops there through most of the year to get through another full fighting season, so to speak. whether he gets that is really up for debate. and what the white house will allow to come down. and then you've got the big question of how many american troops will be left after 2014, a lot of that will depend on what agreement the u.s. has. able to negotiate with the afghan government and whether u.s. troops will be able to retaken some sort of legal immunity. in other words, the troops that

would be left will not be sto t subject to afghan law. one of the big points of contention that derailed any deal with iraq. also a different type of national security concern for u.s. troops. "the washington post" reporting that the army is dismissing a record number of soldiers for failing fitness tests. during the first ten months of this year more than 1600 soldiers were kicked out of the army for being out of shape. that is 15 times more than were let go five years ago. obesity's the leading cause of ineligibility for those wanting to join the army. majority of recruits were not able to run, jump, tumble, or roll during fitness tests. moments ago the air force launched the x-37b. it's very mysterious here. considered a mini shuttle and its real purpose very much open to question. >> lift-off of the united launch

alliance atlas carrying the third mission for the united states air force. >> the air force not saying much but the x-37b unmanned spacecraft housed on top of a rocket. john zarrella sayses a test vehicle it will advance technology for military and civilian use. some wonder if it's a spy satellite or some other secret military use. all dressed up nowhere to go. dapper monkey pops up among holiday shoppers. litary le i s f. we've been there. that's why every bit of financial advice we offer is geared specifically to current and former military members and their families. [ laughs ] dad! dad! [ applause ] ♪ [ male announcer ] life brings obstacles. usaa brings advice. call or visit us online. we're ready to help.

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okay. when it comes to brand loyalty, ikea can have a cult-like following. after all, not many stores offer scandinavian furniture and swedish meatballs. it shouldn't be surprised that a monkey shows up to complete the shopping experience. jeanne moos has the story. >> reporter: you go to ikea expecting cheap furniture, not expensively dressed monkeys.

>> this is so bizarre. like, why, is there a monkey at ikea? >> reporter: there he was running around outside an entrance at a toronto ikea in an outfit that freaked ea eed ever out. >> it is definitely faux fur. a faux shear ling. >> reporter: double breasted no less, the tweets started to fly. anyone lose their monkey at ikea? well, yeah. the owner was shopping inside the store when the monkey managed to get out of his crate and then out of the car. >> all the people were trying to, like, call it towards them, but it was very scared, darting all over the place. >> reporter: his diaper only detracted a little from what was later described as his favorite jacket. we asked stylist to the stars robert verde to critique the look. how stylish as a simian is he? >> i thought for a second it was an editor i've seen at fashion week. >> reporter: wasn't quite as formal as the red carpet outfit. worn by the primate star of

hangover part 2. but who dresses up to shop at ikea? animal control folks eventually captured the 7-month-old primate. unfortunately, for the monkey's owner, this shopping trip ended with a no return policy. because monkeys are prohibited as pets, the owner was fined $240 and had to permanently hand over the little guy. identified as darwin. he stayed briefly at toronto animal services. >> he's not very happy right now. he's having kind of a bad day. >> reporter: separation anxiety. he was moved to an ontario primate sanctuary where it is hoped darwin will live happily ever after. but his name will live on as ikea monkey. he instantly acquired parody twitter accounts describing himself as a lover of fashion. a connie stevens song was dedicated to him. ♪ i will wait for you >> reporter: some speculated he headed for ikea in search of

swedish meatballs. his image was inserted in an ad for ikea bedroom furniture. as for the jacket -- >> i bet it is going to start a trend and we'll be able to find a version of it at h&m next week. >> reporter: that's evolution. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. this might be right up your alley. what did joan jett and donna summer have in common? they're nominated for the rock and roll hall of fame. look at the nominees up next. with the ability to improve roi through seo all by cob. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle... and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. i'm going b-i-g. [ male announcer ] good choice business pro. good choice. go national. go like a pro. [ engine revs ]

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rock on. who do you think should be in the rock and roll hall of fame? time for a new crop of inductees. 2013 picks are in. straight to l.a. where nischelle turner has the latest on who might make it in the hall of fame. what you got? >> suzanne, i need a better rock on from you. i need a rock on! >> rock on, nischelle! rock on! tell me! >> rock on, suzanne! we're going to get this official list in just about half an hour. but the names from -- on the

2013 list of nominees make up all genres of music. they include randy newman, heart, donna summer and rush is on the list. this new list always provokes a debate over who gets in and why. to address some of the criticism, this year, for first time, the rock hall opened up voting to the general public online. fans got to vote for the five nominees they wanted in and then the top five artists made up of fans ballot which got counted with the other ballots from industry voters and historians. on the website, they tracked who was winning the fan vote with a running tally. it is close now. but as of the end of november, rush had pulled in nearly 25% of the vote followed by deep purple. so pretty much they're in. yeah. exactly. >> you can't vote anymore? it is closed already? >> no, because we're going to find out in about half an hour. donna summer for me. also nwa and, you know, i'm a big randy newman fan because i

lived in new orleans for a while and we love some randy newman. but we'll find out about 11:30 pacific time. i speak on west coast time, who's in. it is going to be interesting. we see video there of some of the nominees. and i think that we may also see maybe a quincy jones in there as well. he's on the list. he's behind, you know, thriller, a lot of frank sinatra music. i love that actually -- how there is so many different types of music that could possibly get into the hall. >> it is fascinating. i would do public enemy too. i like public enemy. does anybody think there is a sure win here? what do you think? anybody? >> yeah, i think because we saw so -- we saw -- rush will probably get in because the fan vote was so strong for them. 25% of the fan vote. they're probably in. and we also saw a strong vote for deep purple. on that fan vote list, though, heart is number three. so we'll have to see if those ladies get in there too.

they deserve it. >> yeah. oh, yeah, absolutely. that's a tough act. when you look at that list, the competition is fierce. don't you think? >> you can only pick five. you can only pick five. you can make an argument for every single band. that's why they're the nominees. i think they all deserve to get in. i know that's sitting on the fence, but i love them all. >> maybe you should do a big rock on! so when do we find out? >> we got 30 minutes, yeah. we got 30 minutes before we find out the list. and then the ceremony is actually in april here in los angeles when they will be officially inducted into the hall. >> okay. all right. nischelle, good to see you, as always. we'll be waiting. >> you too. >> we'll wait and see. you say rush. rock on! they grabbed our attention in 2012. now you can vote for the top ten most intriguing people of the year. just logon to cnn.com/intriguing. we're going to ann